Winchester Medical Center has once again received a 3-star rating, the
highest score possible, for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) from
the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), often referred to as heart bypass
surgery, uses healthy vessel “grafts” to replace clogged arteries
that are no longer able to deliver adequate blood supply to the heart
muscle. A cardiothoracic surgeon may replace one or several vessels during
a CABG procedure.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is a leader in establishing and
reporting quality guidelines that give consumers the tools they need to
make informed decisions about their care. Cardiothoracic surgeons voluntarily
report their outcomes to improve the care and safety of patients. STS
has a comprehensive rating system for the quality of cardiac surgery among
hospitals across the country. Only 12-15% of hospitals with cardiac surgery
programs receive the 3-star rating. The current analysis covers the period
from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. WMC’s program has been awarded
this highest rating for CABG for 24 consecutive months.

“The 3-Star designation represents the highest level of quality for
heart bypass surgery, and achieving this accomplishment for the second
year in a row reflects some outstanding work by our entire cardiac surgery
team,” said cardiothoracic surgeon Edward Kofsky, MD, Chairman of
the Heart Surgery Clinical Council at Winchester Medical Center. “Our
ongoing focus on quality has been and will be paramount to the work we
do to enhance the care and safety of our surgical patients.”

“Receiving the highest STS rating for CABG is an outstanding achievement
in its own right. Maintaining this rating for 24 consecutive months is
truly exceptional and stands as a testament to our cardiac surgery team's
steadfast commitment to delivering the highest quality care for patients
in need of heart bypass surgery in our region,” said Grady W. (Skip)
Philips, III, FACHE, senior vice president of Valley Health System and
president of Winchester Medical Center. “This recognition truly
belongs to the leadership of our Heart Surgery Clinical Council, as well
as all of our surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, intensivists, cardiologists,
pharmacists and other team members who care for our cardiac surgery patients.”

WMC’s heart surgery program has recently expanded to include minimally
invasive CABG through small incisions to replace clogged arteries with
a healthy vessel graft. This procedure does not require stopping the heart,
and a heart-lung machine is not required. It provides an alternative to
standard open-heart bypass surgery when bypassing a single coronary artery.

The 3-star rating from STS is based on a composite score built upon 11
individual measurements grouped into four categories:

avoidance of mortality;

avoidance of morbidity (percentage of patients who leave hospital with
no serious complications such as stroke or kidney failure);

use of the internal mammary artery from the chest wall during surgery,
shown to lead to better results; and

use of four prescribed medications following surgery, shown to improve results.

The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for
quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons and
programs. The database and its quality assessment activities, nationally
recognized quality measures, and quality improvement initiatives are built
on the foundation of more than 5.8 million surgical records.